Market reaction to Costco launch of Celsius copy ‘likely overdone,’ says Stifel

Stifel notes that Kirkland Signature, the private-label brand of Costco (COST), released a new “Sparkling Energy Drink” product that seems to mimic Celsius (CELH) with a similar can size, caffeine content and flavors. The brand’s initial launch appears to have the closest similarities to Celsius and was the likely factor for yesterday’s underperformance, says the firm, which believes there is some near term risk to Celsius from a stock perspective, but does not expect to see a meaningful impact to sales going forward for Celsius or the category. The firm keeps a Buy rating on Celsius shares.